pic

Tuesday, 10 June 2014

Happy Campers

I've been told that I'm not the world's most natural camper but Halfords clearly didn't know that when they offered to send me a goodie bag stuffed with Scouting camping essentials. And obviously, I accepted because the four (five!) boys in the house would have been completely horrified to miss out on such a haul of treats! And now they've arrived, I'm really impressed at the quality, usefulness and sturdiness of each item!

For instance, there's a lantern that runs on LED batteries-so much safer than oil, ridiculously cheap to run and it's already been earmarked for our pitch dark shed at the caravilla- especially for all those times when I want to put on a wash in the middle of the night!

There's also an LED tasklight /flashlight, which stands up on one end and even has a pen clip and a magnet attached. So as you can imagine, Rory is dying to get his mitts on that one. There's a corkscrew keyring which is already packed away for the caravilla and a VERY sturdy water bottle that will come in very handy for school lunches.

Indispensable!

Finally, best of all there is a whistle, which is already on my keyring, and proving to be very useful indeed for summoning children for mealtimes and bedtimes. And no, I haven't turned into Captain Von Trapp overnight, it's just that we live in the country and in the summer months the boys are usually outside, often out of earshot-maybe up a distant tree, or over the fields or up the lane.

For example, when I blew it yesterday at dinnertime, two of them emerged within seconds clutching newly sharpened 'spears' from their secret den in an out of sight hedge. Result! And I didnt have to scream myself hoarse in the process. I mean, it's not like I'm on my own- our neighbour with six children often rings her old fashioned school bell when grubs up over there!

Thank you!

The whole crew

About Me

My name is Emma and I’m a mother to 5 children, one girl, aged 14 and four boys, aged 12, 10, 8 and 3. I'm married to Damian, aka Loverboy, family man, a great father and love of my life. (Unless we're having a row-then he has other names.)
In a previous life, I studied and worked in psychology, counselling and teaching-now I'm at home full time.
This blog began quite by chance a few years ago, and through it I've mused about raising a family, while attempting to hold on to my sanity.
I believe that when we give ourselves permission as parents, to be less than perfect, and even admit that it sometimes sucks, we can relax more and enjoy the ride.
Parenting has seasons-some are tougher than others but they all DO pass, and sharing them here with you, has made the journey so much sweeter and lots more fun....so thank you.
Oh, and along the way, I've also discovered a love for writing...but that's another story.
Belfast boy C.S. Lewis said it best,
“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .”
So stick around-I've a feeling we could be friends,
Emma xxx